Winning After All
by Questioning Law
Summary: The amount of chaos energy absorbed over the years by Eggman is what allows him to escape from extreme situations, unfazed every time. A one-off experiment pushes an idea to manipulate the energy to be able to escape injury, no matter what the case is. The concept soon becomes problematic when G.U.N finds out about the possibility of invincibility.


SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (c) SEGA and Sonic Team

Fallback to Base

"Give up Eggman, your base is basically destroyed, and my friends are finishing off anything that's left of it. Just hand over the chaos emerald, it's over."

That's what the hedgehog said, straight and to the point. Emphasised by the gesture of a hand, a trademark smile, and all done while running at high speeds. As if in response the mobile craft increased in its own speed, causing parts of the engine that got damaged earlier to break apart even faster.

The two beings had met earlier in the doctor's inner quarters, and although it was clear who won that battle, it wasn't clear who would keep the emerald. They transferred locations to outside the fortress, a relatively empty field sparsely populated with bushes. A river flowing away from the main entrance complemented the scenery. Both of them were rushing down it at opposite sides. One was trying to stop an escape, the other was about to perform it, the classic Egg-mobile getaway.

Attention: Critical Engine Damage – Forward Acceleration Locked – Anti-Gravity Generation Reduced to 1/16

"What? No! Don't fail on me now!" his craft now being forced to lower its altitude to almost ground level, and along with the jammed control column, eliminated his ability to change the current speed or heading. Attempts at regaining the steering controls were made quite aggressively, but with no avail. The rash action was understandable, because he needs to get the vehicle off course. He wasn't trying to get away from the hedgehog, but rather the river itself. For up ahead, the river was proceeding into a waterfall.

Viewing the scene from along the waterway, the hedgehog felt it was appropriate to comment on his rival's situation.

"What's wrong, was my request too straight forward?" shouting across the water.

"Shut up! You caused this to happen, provocative rodent!" turning his head to the side and pointing at him with the right hand, the left rested on the useless steering wheel. He thought about jumping out of the cockpit, but at this velocity, it would do more harm than good.

Another idea came to mind, quickly thinking of the possible outcomes that could happen if he went through with it. Shaking the head furiously, he focused back on the situation at hand, and turned on the vehicle's heads-up display.

"That will have to be a last resort."

At the same time Sonic was taking advantage of his adversary's restricted flight path, and along a blue streak, now situated himself beside the edge of the waterfall. With a running start he jumped over to the other side and proceeded to wait for the man via stretching. He could have charged straight at the craft and ended it, but where's the fun in that?

The distance between them would be closed in about thirty seconds. Eggman was frantically looking through his base's databases from the display, trying to find anything he could use that hasn't been destroyed yet.

"Come on..."

Multiple search results came up, but virtually all were still inside the base dealing with the other two threats. Only one piece of machinery was available, it being the only one highlighted on the screen.

Model Number: S.T.H 12CDK – Location: Waterfall Entrance 2 – Activate: [Y/N]?

"Yes, yes! Do activate!" repeatedly hitting the "Y" key, as well as repeatedly looking at the screen and the foe ahead of him. He judged about a ten second interval separated the both of them. The information provided to him showed that this was one of his older obsolete works, but that statistical fact never crossed his mind.

Sonic was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, casually switching his body posture to a ready stance.

"If you wanted to lose this badly, all you had to do was ask!"**  
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A distinct humming noise began emitting underground, followed by a prolonged sound similar to a pop. Sonic being the straightforward guy he is ignored the disturbance, focusing on what was in front. Until the disturbance came to him in the form of a three meter tall, chain connected wrecking ball, landing into the ground alongside him. The resulting shockwave caught Sonic by surprise, causing him to be tossed in the air at a forward momentum.

Attached with a chain that went over the falls, the checker design sphere was acting as an anchor for the rest of the contraption. The machine was rising to the top by pulling the chain, away from Waterfall entrance 2. The doctor slowly stopped pressing on the keys when viewing the hedgehog sail over his head, arms flailing. Returning his attention back to the river, he noted that the terrain was about to become non-existent. The man flew over the edge, and Eggman braced himself for the coming downward acceleration. The complete opposite happened instead.

"Hmm?"

He continued to keep his grip firm on the craft's sides. As it kept rising he loosened it, and proceeded to peak over the edge. The tense face he had got replaced with one of his own trademark smiles.

The Egg-mobile became latched on the recently activated machine, more specifically, the exact part his universal hovercraft needs to be. Only being required to turn his vehicle around, allowing both devices to face the same direction. The one available machine left in his arsenal was on autopilot no more. Once on solid ground, the man retracted his makeshift anchor from the dirt. Needing to analyse what exactly this thing could do before deciding his next course of action, he was greeted with a slow applause.

"Doctor, Dr. Eggman, always the man with a million backup plans, or in this case, backup machine," turning his head side to side, drawing out the applause as much as possible. As he casually brushed off the soil he gained moments ago, the hedgehog's green eyes met blue-tinted glasses, along with a machine that rivaled the size of the Egg Emperor.

With the Eggman at the centre, five robotic limbs consisting of two arms, legs, and a protruding back appendage summed up the entire robot. One arm contained two giant checkered design wrecking balls attached to their own chains, both being connected directly into the shoulder joint. On the right side, a simple hand with four fingers, red and black rings surrounding the joints.

_Wait a sec.  
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Below the man's feet, metal pistons supported the other three limbs, black and yellow bar decal painted on the sides. An Egg-pawn was located inside both cylinders, individually equipped with an Egg-brand laser pistol. They were protected by spikes that protruded out, resembling that of a forty-five degree angle, surrounding each capsule. Not to mention the three layers of stone birds placed at both sides of each metal piston. Those statue-like birds having the ability to fire a barrage of wooden arrows when least expected.

_Those machine parts..._

All limbs showed a fighting stance, the fifth one however resembled more closely to a scorpion's tail ready to strike. The only unique feature was the laser it contained, placed where the stinger would be. This particular model showcased a simple aerodynamic design, allowing it to be built on flying fortresses.

_I'd recognise them anywhere._

Sonic ended his applause, a small grin starting to form, thinking that this battle is as good as done. As for Eggman, he stood from his cockpit, remembering why he labeled this model obsolete.

"Witness a machine worthy of my genius, the Egg Emperor Mark II!" fist pumping the air for effect, coming up with the name on the fly. Sonic didn't need to know about the obsolete part. Although, the reaction he got was unexpected.

"Really? Seems out-of-date to me," holding in his laughter the best he could.

Fortunately, Eggman had a solution to that problem, glancing upon it. The emerald was already inserted from the dashboard, and with its extra power, should give the hedgehog a run for his money. Yet it still needed to charge before it could be used. To not arouse any suspicion, he stepped on the control panel. Nudging his foot, he activated the process.

"Care to back up that statement hedgehog?" hoping this abrupt conversation lasts more than a minute.

"Pfffff. Did you really think you could beat me with past failures? To think I was worried, I'd recognise all of them," waving a hand in response.

He pointed with the dominant hand at the Mark II's legs, "Those metal pistons are from our encounter at the Final Zone, and those spikes, weren't they pink the last time I saw them at Palmtree Panic Zone?"

Approaching the robot in a smugly manner, Sonic continued to list off the parts with Eggman watching over the windshield.

"Stone birds from the Aquatic Ruins?" knocking on the birds sides. "Yep, that's stone all right."

Running up the leg, he perched himself on one of the wrecking balls, "I'm not even going to ask."

"And I'm no genius, but…"**–**climbing up to the tail-like structure**–**"using the same laser that destroyed your own Winged Fortress?" now on the edge of the tail pointing down on it.

He now had a clear line of sight at the doctor, explaining why his answer was unusually thorough. Peaking at the corner of his eye, the man saw that the emerald was ready to go. Requiring a distraction to lunge back to the controls, and to stop Sonic from destroying everything right then and there, Eggman blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"What about my Egg-pawns?"

The question indeed was random, catching the hedgehog off guard for the slightest of seconds.

"What about th–"

All of a sudden Eggman dived back to the driver's seat, and the next thing Sonic knew, he was sailing over the scientist's head, again. The laser he stood on catapulted him forward.

"Egg-pawns don't fall for trivial questions!" yelling at the flying hedgehog.

This time when he hit the ground he landed upright, facing back at the out-of-date machine.

"The Egg Emperor Mark II may have some outdated technology, but thanks to this yellow beauty, it should meet up to my current standards."

Sonic was running towards him at full force. Eggman waited for the hedgehog to close the distance. Leaping into ––––– |Egg Cam #3: Recording Paused|

* * *

><p>"Hey buddy, why'd the video stop? It was finally getting good," the cubed shaped robot uttered, showing his dissatisfaction by tilting the head forward, rotating it round n' round.<p>

"The boss seems to have stopped the video," his spherical buddy replied, stopping his square friend's head and directing it to the problem. The screen now had turned off completely.

"I'm about to reboot the underlying power grid. I'm going to shut everything down to do so."

The man was performing the operation underneath the main console, monitors situated above it. With a wrench in hand the sound of metal on metal was heard. Vibrations filled the base as the hydroelectric generators went online. Most lights in the room came back on, and various other devices were on their way, or simply short circuited trying to. Based on the half-functioning base and the battered central computer room, it's clear that Eggman lost that battle against Sonic. He himself started to access his main computer.

"So they tried to retrieve, and then delete all the data from the prime server?"

Orbot answered the question, "Yes, when Sonic ran out of the base after you, his companions Tails and Knuckles continued the assault on the inside. From our cameras we could tell that they were after it." That data being all of Eggman's: schematics, plans, bios, etc.

"How were you so sure?"

Cubot interjected, "Well, Tails took out some type of handheld device when you left with the emerald. I think it was the same thing he used to defeat y–"

"It was his Miles electric," smacking down his partner's head as if silently saying _shut up and let me talk._

"And you're positive that all the data was transferred successfully on this?" pulling out a USB bearing the doctor's insignia, his hand still working on the keyboard. The screen displayed the hard drive's storage, and was unsurprisingly empty.

"Yes, but there may be a possibility the data is now corrupted. Not likely, but it's still a possibility."

He turned around after inserting the stick.

"As a precaution, I'll determine if anything at all became corrupted during transfer. Meanwhile, you guys will give me a full status report of the base. I need to know what I'm dealing with here."

The squared one was about say something when Eggman added, "Then you can continue watching the events you missed," pointing the wrench at him.

The robots proceeded out the room through a hole that once held the door, heading to do their assigned tasks.

"Metal, those two will handle the report. I need your assistance on a different matter."

Metal sonic stopped halfway out the exit when he heard the doctor's request. He retracted back inside, returning to the same spot he was originally standing. He also was with Orbot and Cubot when they watched the Egg cam's recording.

"They just had to attack when I was in the middle of relocating to a new site," grumbling to himself. Arrays of files were shown from above, the section "schematics" selected to analyse first. The robot began watching them being accessed, his red eyes staying focused on it, and assuming a hand crossed posture.

"Summarise the events that happened today, continue where Orbot left off."

From a slightly pitched monotone sound chip, Metal sonic responded, "They were heading to this room, wiping out the preliminary defenses with relatively low difficulty. We were all here at the time with some backup prepared for them when SA-55 came up with a, unique idea."

* * *

><p>"They are clearly here for the data. I'd say we give it to them," hovering over to the computer.<p>

Three lines of Egg-pawns loosely encircled the one entrance to the room, readying for the intruders. Their arsenal consisted of Eggman brand pistols, sub-machine guns, and rocket launchers. Metal sonic was mounted at the back in his neutral position waiting also. Hearing that one statement Orbot proclaimed caused the defense to fall apart, literally. All the pawns turned around to stop the access of the computer. Being all scrunched up didn't help, as it made their actions resemble that of falling dominoes.

_The idea was a surprise for everyone._

"No," Metal sonic retorted, as he turned around and headed towards the back of the room. At arm's length, the hand of his was about to grab the red ball away from the mainframe, when the robot's partner shoved him back.

"Yo, what do yeah mean no? Let the man explain himself before you dismantle his belt," his voice chip purposely set on mobster mode.

"It's simple really." Orbot directed the two individuals to a slot on the hard drive, still working on the screen.

"I hastily copied all the files into that device. I'm wiping most of the original data off the registers, leaving information that Sonic and his friends already know."

By now the domino battalion were reverted back into their initial form, weapons aimed at the traitor. However, Metal signaled for them to step down, allowing for Orbot to continue. Distancing himself from the keyboard, he turned to face them.

"Insert filler, a crippling virus, put it all together with authentic data. What do you get?" hands clasped.

_Let the heroes take the data._

Walking towards the device, Metal sonic removed it from the slot, "A virtual Trojan horse."

"Yes, and if this works we'll have complete access to their entire network, but we still need to defend this room to show as if the information is still there," taking the item, and placing it in his robotic compartment.

_To allow us to take theirs._

At that moment a voice came from outside.

"Tails! I found the computer room!"

The pawns turned back to the door, this time more considerate for one another, while the other three surrounded the computer. It took only a few punches until it came open. On the other side came out Knuckles, his partner sticking out his head to the side, Miles electric in hand. Cubot, still doing his mobster impersonation willingly, initiated the attack.

"Ready all cannons! Open fire!"

* * *

><p>"We lost on purpose. I powered down during the engagement to act as if I were defeated, the other two surrendered when the rest of the Egg-pawns were eliminated."<p>

Metal sonic still stood in the same place in which the conversation started. Silence filled the room, only the sound of keystrokes being heard. Eggman took it as a sign that he was done. Switching the video feeds back to the previous recording, he pulled out the peripheral and tucked it into one of his inner coat pockets.

"That explains the corrupted data, the result of the fast transfer. Most of that affected is knowledge I know roughly from memory. Once we move on to the next base, I will be able to fully restore it," plucking the wrench off the computer desk.

"Although, shutting down mid-fight was extremely risky. I wouldn't have been surprised if Tails had taken a perfectly intact Metal sonic, along with the intelligence."

The robot merely shrugged, clearly not knowing why that wasn't the case.

"Hmph"**–**he headed towards an object beside Metal, as it radiated a faint yellow glow–"lucky me."

He squatted down, intending to start repairing the item, when as if on cue his two assistants came back from their survey of the base. Both carried holographic clipboards emitting from each of their chests.

"Well, what's the damage?" getting back on his feet, hoping for some good news. Yet the lack of check marks displaying from the translucent boards summed up what he already knew. Orbot began scrolling down his checklist, summarising what each section contained.

"The time is 8:37 P.M; lights are running at sixty percent capacity; elevator lifts have ceased functioning; power has been cut off from the exterior of the building; the generators won't last for more than a day; there is a ten meter diameter hole leading outside on the second floor due to…"

His report went on for quite some time. Eventually, some good news came out of him, saving the best for last.

"…and two intact Egg-pawns were found underneath a pile of destroyed ones."

Eggman gestured Cubot to pass him his list. Navigating to the last section, he read out information that the summary did not contain.

"Damage; minimal dents, power levels at fourteen percent, location–the third floor!?" a mixture of surprise and excitement coming out of his voice. Shoving the hologram back, he ran out into the hallway. Sure enough, there was a pile of robotic metal to his left, adjacent to the elevator doors.

"They're just what I need. Go pull them out," looking back inside, still pointing at the pile.

The three of them headed out, going towards the lump that formed about twenty Egg-pawns. Orbot and Cubot started from the top while Metal worked on the bottom half. They got the robots out rather quickly, littering the hall with the non-functioning ones. The pair worked together to hoist one of the working pawns off the ground, Metal sonic carried the other. Eggman was already waiting for them, next to his damaged object.

"Place them here," his hands showcasing the ground beside him.

"You're going to repair the vehicle with these?" it was an innocent question asked by Cubot when dropping off their load.

"All other escape methods are out of commission. This fix is only temporary," rolling the pawn on its back. He pulled out a belt of tools from his clothing, laying it on the floor. Taking a screwdriver, he started to work on the back latch.

"In any case, I can always use you guys as replacement parts," flipping the lid open.

"Well–"

Cubot was about to continue when his buddy abruptly stopped him. This time he was forced into his retracted cubed form, Orbot clearly didn't want him to continue this line of questioning. He was holding the head, about to tell him something, when the man's attention focused back on them.

"Ah, what an excellent idea," saying as he took the cube away. He placed the box where he was originally sitting and began to use it as a makeshift stool, the head facing the other way. Orbot couldn't help but chuckle.

"Don't think I have forgotten about my nonviable data."

It was now Cubot's turn to laugh, as this stopped the gloating.

Hoping to divert the spotlight away, Orbot changed the subject, "How about we continue with the Egg cams previously recorded video then? Since the doctor decided to enhance them with hidden cameras, it can also be known as the point of view of the bushes."

Eggman, who was busy mangling with the interior guts of the Egg-pawn, answered with his own question.

"Metal?" motioning his head behind him.

Metal sonic understood the rest, walking towards the computer where the inputs laid. Along with Orbot, and somewhat Cubot, the robots faced the displays. Eggman was dismantling the Egg-pawns to fix the Egg-mobile, and Cubot was acting as his emergency stool. His co-worker Orbot was hovering closer to the screen to get a better view of it, as Metal sonic placed the mouse cursor on play.

* * *

><p><strong>––––– |G.U.N Satellite Station: Video Feed| – Redirecting – |Dr. Eggman's Base: Activity within 24 Hours| – Redirecting – |Resuming video playback of Sonic ATT. Eggman| –––––<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **If you haven't figured it out yet, S.T.H 12CDK stands for Sonic. The. Hedgehog. 1, 2, CD, & Knuckles. It references all those games because the machine Eggman uses was based on their bosses. Of course in the story, Eggman doesn't know it actually stands for that.


End file.
